Joyeuse
Joyeuse is the princess of Hiltshire and a skilled warrior. She is the daughter of King Hilton, and wields Bograk's hook. She was the one who imprisoned the Demon king by embedding the boredsword in it's chest. Joyeuse has been a fighter since her childhood. She was given Bograk's Hook by her father when she was very little. She used this sword in the Swor'nament. She was one of the people to fight the demon king at the Swor'nament arena during round 2. She has appeared in comics IV, LXXXVI, XCVII, C, CLXVIII, CLXXIII, CLXXIV, CLXXV, CLXXXI, and CXC. Biography Childhood Joyeuse was born to King Hilton, and grew up as a princess to Hiltshire. Being the younger child, she was never destined to rule the kingdom, and she could devote plenty of her time to learning how to fight. Even at a young age, she had more talent with a sword than her brother. Due to this and possibly favoritism from her father, he gifted her Bograk's Hook. Harpe didn't learn that it was a godsword until far later, and it's unclear if her father even knew. The Swor'nament At the 25th annual Swor'nament, Joyeuse was matched against Harpe during the last fight if round 1. Their fight seemed evenly matched until Harpe's magical armor dissolved off of her body. Joyeuse won the fight due to that. She used Bograk's hook in this fight and for the rest of the Swor'nament. Joyeuse went off and found Harpe later, telling her that she was sorry about the armor and that she still had fun, despite the anticlimactic way the fight ended. Harpe then stated that she wanted to check in the Lake Queen to see if she was okay. Joyeuse said that it sounded like a quest and to count her in. Harpe protested since Joy still had to fight in round 2 of the Swor'nament, but Joy said that the second round was the next day and that she wasn't worried about getting back in time. Joyeuse accompanied Harpe to Lake Tang. When they got there, they found the Lake Monster, seemingly lying dead on the bank with her hand cut off. But once they drew near, she rose up out of the water, revealing that what had originally appeared to be her head and body was only the end of her tail. She was actually much larger than Harpe and Joy originally thought, and was very much alive. Harpe and Joy stayed at Lake Tang overnight and listened to the Queen's story of how a thief had snuck up, cut off her hand, and stolen her sword. When morning came, Harpe decided to go after the thief, and the Lake Monster gave her the big sword to aid her on her journey. Joyeuse had to go back to the Swor'nament, and they parted ways. Round Two Joyeuse returned to Hiltshire only to learn that her father had been killed. Her reaction to this news isn't shown, though she seems more serious and determined than in previous comics. Her next round is up against Odachi the Samurai, who had survived being stabbed by the demon king after his win in round one. The demon king had been the one to kill her father, but no one knew that and Xiphos the bartender was blamed. Joyeuse and Odachi met, and after discussing his encounter with the demon king, they realized that the demon had possessed Prince Parry, Joyeuse's older brother, and was now watching the Swor'nament. Joy and Odachi decided to expose him during their round. When their match began, Joy and Odachi didn't fight. Instead, they pointed at Prince Parry and yelled to the audience that he had been possessed. The demon didn't try to protest, and instead gloated about how he had already eaten two Godswords and was coming for the three left and their wielders. Joyeuse said that she was glad she wasn't one of those people, which is rather ironic as she actually did—unknowingly—have a godsword. The demon then started fighting Joyeuse and Odachi, trying to get Bograk's hook. He transformed his left hand into a large, jagged blade and used it to fend off both Odachi and Joy before he managed to throw Odachi away from the fight with his free hand. He then exchanged blows with Joyeuse before knocking her to the ground and pulling her shield out of her grasp. He then disarmed her and devoured her sword. The demon king's body started to struggle to contain the power of the godswords it had consumed. Joyeuse was saddened by the loss of her sword and her brother, and was on the edge of defeat when help arrived. Bread Knight, Chad, Mere, Stabastian, Jian, and ghost Xiphos arrived and started to fought the demon king. His newfound power was not enough to defeat all of them combined, and his body eventually gave in and exploded, leaving only the three-eyed demon sword behind. The sword of Boundless Hunger had been defeated, but not killed. Ghost Xiphos was attached to Chad, and asked to do the honors of killing the demon sword. Mere stabbed Chad and ghost Xiphos into the sword. This didn't immediately kill the demon sword, but Xiphos’ soul was transferred to the demon sword. It started to bleed out, and the group of people turned their attention to other matters. But Xiphos’ zombie, like all zombies, was trying to get back to its soul. The zombie was attracted to the soul and since the soul was attached to the demon sword, the zombie ate both. The sword of boundless hunger possesses people when they eat it, and so the sword bonded to the zombie. The zombie then underwent a major transformation: it grew to a huge size, its skin turned black, its skull became more bony, it grew horns and sharp protrusions on the shoulders, and its eyes and mouth were lit with a menacing, fiery blaze. How Joyeuse escaped this new menace is not yet shown in the comics. Stayed tuned! The Boredsword Joyeuse evidently survived the Swor'nament, as she appears in comics that occur later in the Swords chronology. Sometime after the demon king moved into a dungeon in the Worselands, Joyeuse went on a quest to finally kill it. She met the Travel Goblin and asked for a sword with which she could kill the demon king. Travel Goblin bestowed upon her the boredsword, a blade which causes boredom in anyone who is in contact with it. The effect on Joyeuse was instantaneous, but not so bad that she couldn't continue her quest. Joyeuse eventually made her way into the demon's lair, and battled it until she ended the fight by plunging the boredsword into its chest. This didn't kill it, but the boredsword's power caused the demon to become so unmotivated that he lost all desire to leave his dungeon, effectively trapping him. What happens to Joyeuse after this confrontation is unknown. She may not even have escaped the demon's cave, and it is theorized that she might be the princess Bread Knight is trying to save. Personality Joyeuse is a very determined person. When faced with the death of her father, she mourned only briefly–if at all–and was soon working on bringing justice to her father's killer. She is also extroverted and ready to help her friends in any way she can, as seen in the way she volunteered to accompany Harpe to Lake Tang. Motivations Joyeuse's main motivation is helping others, whether it's through slaying a powerful threat or helping a friend with a short journey. She also enjoys adventure and going on quests. Part of her desire to kill the demon king might be vengeance for her father and brother as well. Powers and Abilities * Swordsmanship: Joyeuse is a great swordsman, and could hold her own against opponents like Harpe and even the Demon King. Gear * Bograk’s Hook: This blade is the yellow godsword, created by Bograk for unknown purposes. It is a straight sword with a small hook on one edge near the tip. This sword was given to Joy when she was very young, and she used it for most of her life and during the Swor'nament. In round two of the Swor'nament, the demon king ate this sword. The true extent of this sword's power is unknown, but if it's like the other godswords it probably has a soul monster that it can release. * Boredsword: A sword with such a plain design that it was cursed to inflict boredom in wielder and victim alike. Not to be confused with a broadsword. This large and unwieldy blade was given to Joyeuse by the travel goblin. She embedded it in the demon king's chest, and instead of killing him it caused such intense boredom in him that he lost all desire to leave his dungeon. Relationships Trivia * Joyeuse is named after the sword of King Charlemagne * The Demonslayer looks very similar to Joyeuse, but it is confirmed by the author that they are not the same person.